Sofa-bed



(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1.

O. STREIT. SOFA BED.

No. 312,927. Patentedfeb. 21.4, 1885.

N. PiTEns, ElmYO-Lhhngmphor. WASIHIIgQan. n. c

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. STREIT.

SOFA. BED.

Patented Feb. 24, 1885.

(No Model.)

"N @Wg s ren Starts PATENT @rrrcm CHARLES STREIT, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

SOFA BED.

SPECIFICATION fort ing part. of Letters Patent No. 312,927, dated February 2 1-, 1885.

Application filed August l0, IBSZB.

T0 aZZ 20700772, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Srnnrr, aciti- Zen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, county of Hamilton, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sofa-Beds, of which the following isaspecification.

My invention relates to that class of sofas which are convertible into a double bed. Its object is a simple cheap device which can be readily operated, is not liable to get out of order, and which will, when changed intoabcd, be in fact the regular spring-mattress.

WVith these objects in view my invention consists in certain peculiar detailsof construction'and combination of parts, which will be first fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters indicate like parts wherever they occur, and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved sofa when converted into a bed. Fig. 2 is an end view of the sofa-frame before being upholstered. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of one end of the folding back and its supporting brace and leg. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the sofa-back. A portion of the end rail is broken away to expose the back supportingleg. The dotted line shows the position the leg occupies with relation to the back when turned down to form a bed. Fig. 5 is an end view of the arm-rest and bolster, showing two posts for supporting itin place, instead of the central supporting-piece shown in Fig. 2.

The front frame, A, and back frame, B, are made in the usual way, except that the meeting ends of their end rails are curved upward, and are beveled back toward the lower edge. The upward curve brings the pintle of the hinge nearer to the top ofthe mattress'springs, so that the springs upon the adjacent edges of the back and seat may be placed as close together as in the other parts of the mattress, in order that the back may be turned up without injury to the springs or upholstering material.

The purpose of making the meeting ends of the rails beveled is to permit the upper edge of the back to drop down to the floor without endangering the hinges or pulling them loose should the back be dropped down carelessly before the legs 0 could assume a vertical po- (No mode sition, or should the legs from any cause stick or not work freely. The back B is supported in its upright position by arms D, which are pivoted on pins which pass through elongated perforations in the arms, and are secured in the end rails of the frame A. The free end of the arms D have notches or hooks to engage pins 12, secured in the vend rails of the back. The arms curve downward to escape the inner end of the arm-rests or bolsters E when the back is turned up. The arms I preferto make of the same wood as the frame, and to strengthen them outside of the slots and notches in the ends I pass through them from edge to edge pins of hickory or other hard wood. or of metal, as represented in dotted line, Figs. 1 and 2. The elongated slots in the attached ends of the arms are for convenience in lowering the back. When the back is pressed slightly forward, and one arm lifted from its engaging'pin b, it will drop down and beheld out of engagement while the person passes to the opposite endto disengage the other arm. The slot should be but about once and a half longer than the diameter of the pin, to barely keep the notch and pin 1) out of engagement, so that when theback is turned up and pressed forward the notches of the arms will automatically engage the pins b.

To the arm-rest and bolster I Fig. 2, is secured a supporting-piece, e, which has a tenon atitslower end to enter mortises c in the tops of the end rails of both frames A and B. One edge of the tenoned part of piece 0 has perforations, as seen in dotted line, Fig. 2, to receive the shaft of a bolt, 7, Fig. 1. By this means the bolster is capable of vertical adjustment. The legs 0 are secured in end crossbraces, b by pins 0, which pass through slots in the legs. The legs are tapered from about the bottom of the slots to the upper rounded ends to enter corresponding perfo rations in the end braces, I), when the back is turned down. By this means the legs are rigidly held in a vertical position. The cross-pieces L are recessed to embed the logs when the back is turned up, as shcwn in Fig. 4, and the legs are held within the recesses by'buttons b, Fig. 4.

When the sofa is to be convertedintoabed, the buttons U and the arms D are released. As the back is turned down the legs will retain their vertical position, and when the casters reach the floor the top of the leg will be forced in the perforations in piece b until the pin 0 rests upon the bottom of the slot in leg 0. One of the bolsters E is now withdrawn from the seat-frame and placed in the mortise in the back frame. The bedis then formed as shown in Fig. 1.

F in Fig. 1 is the front of a drawer, which may be arranged under the sofa-frame, if desired, for the purpose of storing the bed-clothing.

After my frame is made and put together, as shown, it is turned down in the position shown in Fig. 1, and upholstered precisely the same as a spring-mattress, the springs being united and bound together in the same way, so that the bed is of uniform elasticity over the whole top, instead of being less yielding in some places than in others, as it must be when the back and seat are upholstered separately.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a folding bed, the combination of the seat and back frames, having the meeting ends of their end rails downwardly and reversely beveled, the hinges for uniting said frames, legs pivoted to the back frame for supporting" it in ahorizontal position, and brace-arms pivoted to the ends of the seat-frame to engage ends of the seat-frame, pins projecting from the back frame to engage the hooked ends of 40 said arms, and foldinglegs pivoted to theback frame to support it in a horizontal position, substantially as specified.-

3. A sofa-bed consisting, substantially as before set forth, of the seat and back frames, hinged together at their meeting longitudinal edges, and each having the end rails slotted, as shown, the folding legs pivoted to the back frame, the bolsters provided with tenons shaped to fit the slots in the end rails of the 59 frames, and the braces curved. as described, to avoid contact with the bolsters when supporting the back frame.

CHARLES STREIT.

Witnesses:

CHAS. F. GESSERT, Gno. J. MURRAY. 

